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Official Butler Basketball Thread

If Indiana and Purdue have one , the runner ups last year should have one. They are on a hot streak and have won 8 straight games and will play tonight for the Horizon League title and of course a garunteed spot in the big dance.

Re: Official Butler Basketball Thread

Don't know if anyone is paying attention or not, but Butler is killing Milwaukee. It's only half way through the first though, so plenty of basketball left. There are 7 minutes to go in the first and Milwaukee has 8 points.

Re: Official Butler Basketball Thread

Re: Official Butler Basketball Thread

Milwaukee got it a little too close for comfort there for a while but Butler is running it back out now. Up 14 with 4 and a half to go. One thing about Butler this year, they took some lumps but they still play that stifling defense that nobody wants to play against in the Dance. They have held Milwaukee to 28% shooting tonight.

Re: Official Butler Basketball Thread

Tough draw for Butler. But if you are going to be playing in an 8-9 game, you would like it to be in Pittsburgh's bracket. Old Dominion will be a tough game in round one as well. I would love to see Butler string together a run. And they are playing their best ball of the season at the right time so I'm not going to count them out.

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I'll hop on the bandwagon, sure. With IU being a generally miserable program to follow for any relevant collegiate sport, I will support the other schools in the state that don't make boilers. Indiana State and Butler! Let's do this!

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They just said in Terre haute newspaper that ISU was using a broken hockey stick to help them practice for Syracuse. They are also using extra defenders in scrimmages to simulate syracuse's active zone defense.

Re: Official Butler Basketball Thread

The Butler Bulldogs: Number 1 seed serial killers.

"Nobody wants to play against Tyler Hansbrough NO BODY!" ~ Frank Vogel

"And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen. "
Want your own "Just Say No to Kamen" from @mkroeger pic? http://twitpic.com/a3hmca

The mascot for the Butler Bulldogs is getting the royal treatment -- in fact, the 7-year-old dog named Blue 2 not only has his own seat on a CHARTERED PLANE to the Final Four ... he's staying at a 4-star hotel.

Blue 2's handler Michael Kaltenmark tells TMZ, the 63-pound English bulldog is leaving for Houston on Friday ... aboard a special chartered Southwest flight for Butler fans -- and get this ... Blue 2's got his OWN SEAT.

We're told it's Blue 2's second trip to the Final Four -- but it's the first time he'll be shacking up with the elite when he gets there ... at Houston's 4-star Intercontinental hotel.

In fact, Blue 2's so popular -- he'll be getting his own security detail once he lands.

But Blue's got a LOT to do before he takes off -- we're told Blue 2's got an appointment with a dog spa in Indianapolis later today ... where he'll get his hair washed and dried, his nails done ... and then finish things off with a little doggie cologne. Yes, it exists.

Many basketball fans around the country have been wondering how Butler made it back to the Final Four this year, especially without Gordon Hayward.

The answer lies within comic book lore.

Before Clark Kent stepped into a phone booth to quickly become Superman, he took off his glasses.

Every morning before driving to Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse, Butler head coach Brad Stevens puts his on.

A costume and profession separate the two personas of Clark Kent and Superman.

Being on and off the court separates Stevens from his two personalities—the smiling father figure and the animated, intense coach.

Stevens, like Superman, has become a prominent figure in the popular culture of his day.

Stevens’ new eye glasses seem to be the symbol of his power, or rather success on the court.

Ever since a mishap with contacts forced Stevens to leave the last regular season game early, he’s been wearing glasses.

In the minds of many, there’s no coincidence that the Bulldogs have been undefeated in single-elimination tournament play since the switch.

Such success has inspired a #FearTheGlasses hash tag on Twitter and a “Wear Glasses in Support of Brad Stevens and the Bulldogs Day” this Friday.

Players on the team gave perspective on the spectacles.

“He’s already a smart guy, but they make him look smarter,” junior guard Ronald Nored said. “They fit the mold.”

That mold is one of an academic, math-savvy guy.

“He does a really great job of analyzing statistics,” Nored said. “There’s no one in the country that pays closer attention to the details than him.”

Sophomore center Andrew Smith said Stevens was book smart and shared knowledge with the team on a daily basis.

“The first thing I think of when I think of [Stevens] is how he always comes into practice with a new quote from some book we’ve never heard of,” Smith said. “He has one of the best minds I’ve ever encountered.”

That mind is a superstitious one, which is why Stevens has not yet sought out new contacts.

“I know he’s not going to take them off this year because we haven’t lost since he started wearing them,” Nored said.

Stevens confirmed Nored’s hunch, saying that he would not switch to contact lenses right now, even if the doctor told him it was necessary.

Smith and senior Grant Leiendecker gave further insight into Stevens’ superstitious nature.

“We’ve been having the same pre-game meal—spaghetti, chicken, baked potato, garlic bread, fruit salad—for I don’t even know how long,” Smith said.

“We’ll stay in the same hotels if we won while we were there,” Leiendecker said, “Or not go back to a restaurant if a loss followed a meal there.

“He’s superstitious until the day he dies.”

Senior forward Matt Howard knows a thing or two about being superstitious. His less-than-attractive mustache gained national attention during the 2010 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championships, but he assures all that it will not be making an appearance in 2011.

“This is the time in life that we all try weird things, but I think the mustache reflected poorly on my teammates,” Howard said. ”No one can tell me it was good look. That’s how I feel and how other people should feel.”

Howard said the comparison to Clark Kent and Superman may have something to it, but he’s not convinced yet.

“All I know right now is that [Stevens] no longer has watery eyes or vision problems,” Howard said. “The glasses do make him look more intelligent and about two years younger.”

So what do eye wear and Saturday’s game have in common? Virginia Commonwealth head coach Shaka Smart doesn’t wear glasses.

Re: Official Butler Basketball Thread

The dream stops here....

FOR VCU THAT IS!

"Nobody wants to play against Tyler Hansbrough NO BODY!" ~ Frank Vogel

"And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen. "
Want your own "Just Say No to Kamen" from @mkroeger pic? http://twitpic.com/a3hmca